How to stop tomato cracking and make the fruit bigger and tastier

Domestic tomatoes not only taste delicious, but they should also look attractive to eat. A split in the skin does not affect the taste, but spoils the appearance.

Many UK gardeners face this problem as the tomato harvest season approaches.

Ravinder Romany shared a photo of his cracking tomatoes and asked for some green advice: “Any advice on my tomato plant? The tomatoes ripen but crack.

“I had to pick a few of their vines this morning. I’m not sure what’s going on here and if there’s anything I can do to stop the rest. Thanks.”

Gardening enthusiasts were quick to point out that the problem is “irregular watering”. Ronan Montasser explained: “Irregular watering. So when they don’t get enough water, the water content of the fruit decreases along with the skin of the tomato.”

Wendy Lockett added to the conversation: “Inconsistent watering does this. I water mine twice a day if it’s hot.”

Carole Mellett offered the exact solution: “It is essential to water them every day. If they dry out in between, they crack.”

Gardeners must provide regular water without watering the plants if they do not want the fruit to crack.

If gardeners give their tomato plants the right amount of water, the result will be “bigger and tastier fruit,” say the experts at A Way To Garden.

For those who want to keep their tomatoes intact, seasoned gardeners suggested that the best option is to pick them off the vine sooner rather than later and let them ripen indoors to avoid the dreaded splitting.

Jenna Campbell advised, “You can harvest them when they’re green, they’ll still turn red and taste great.”

Nikita Kidd suggested, “Take them out before they’re fully ripe and let them ripen indoors.”

Finally, Nancy Wilson recommended, “The best way to avoid this is to pick them green and ripen them indoors with a banana.”

Nipping tomatoes in the bud not only prevents unsightly splits, but also gives gardeners a chance to take charge when their fruit turns luscious red.

Tomatoes will happily ripen on any kitchen worktop, although a clever trick to speed things up is just toss them into a bag or container with a banana.

Because bananas secrete ethylene, a hormone that causes the fruit to ripen, this little yellow tool can speed up redness.